China Working Days Calculator 2026: Actual Business Days by Month and Quarter
248 working days in 2026. Correctly accounts for all public holidays AND 6 makeup workdays (调休) that other calendars miss.
Check Any Date Range
Use our API to calculate working days for any custom date range:
curl "https://pinjia.day/api/v1/workingDays?from=2026-02-01&to=2026-03-01"Full API documentation · Free, no auth required, CORS enabled.
Quarterly Working Days
| Period | Date Range | Calendar Days | Working Days | Utilization |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2026 (Jan–Mar) | Jan 1 – Mar 31 | 90 | 59 | 66% |
| Q2 2026 (Apr–Jun) | Apr 1 – Jun 30 | 91 | 61 | 67% |
| Q3 2026 (Jul–Sep) | Jul 1 – Sep 30 | 92 | 66 | 72% |
| Q4 2026 (Oct–Dec) | Oct 1 – Dec 31 | 92 | 62 | 67% |
| Full Year 2026 | Jan 1 – Dec 31 | 365 | 248 | 68% |
| CNY Period (2 wks before – 2 wks after) | Feb 1 – Mar 9 | 37 | 22 | 59% |
Monthly Breakdown
| Month | Calendar Days | Working Days | Holidays | Makeup Workdays |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 31 | 21 | New Year's Day | Jan 4 |
| February | 28 | 16 | Chinese New Year (Spring Festival) | Feb 14, Feb 28 |
| March | 31 | 22 | — | — |
| April | 30 | 21 | Qingming Festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) | — |
| May | 31 | 19 | Labour Day | May 9 |
| June | 30 | 21 | Dragon Boat Festival | — |
| July | 31 | 23 | — | — |
| August | 31 | 21 | — | — |
| September | 30 | 22 | Mid-Autumn Festival | Sep 20 |
| October | 31 | 18 | National Day (Golden Week) | Oct 10 |
| November | 30 | 21 | — | — |
| December | 31 | 23 | — | — |
Why This Matters for Your Business
- Payroll calculation: Chinese payroll is based on actual working days. Using 22 days/month (the Western standard) will over- or under-pay staff during holiday months.
- Production planning: February has dramatically fewer working days than July. Adjust order quantities and lead times accordingly.
- SLA and deadline calculation: "30 business days" means very different things depending on which month you start. Across CNY, 30 business days can take 50+ calendar days.
- Financial reporting: Revenue-per-working-day metrics need correct denominators. Q1 always looks worse if you assume standard working days.
FAQ
How many working days are there in China in 2026?
China has 248 working days in 2026 (out of 365 calendar days). This accounts for all 7 public holidays AND 6 makeup workdays where weekends become mandatory workdays.
Why is Q1 so low?
Q1 (January–March) has only 59 working days because Chinese New Year falls in this period. The 9-day official holiday, plus weekends, significantly reduces available production capacity. This is the quarter with the fewest working days in China.
What's a makeup workday?
A day that's normally a weekend (Saturday or Sunday) but is officially designated as a workday in China. The government 'moves' a weekend day to extend a nearby holiday. These are real working days — factories run, offices open. Other holiday calendars miss these, causing wrong working-day counts.
How does this compare to Western working days?
The US has approximately 251 working days per year. China has 248 — fewer than the US, partly because makeup workdays ADD weekend days back as workdays. The net effect of China's holiday system is roughly comparable to Western countries in total working days, but the distribution is very different (concentrated disruptions around CNY and Golden Week).
Get 2027 Factory Dates First
China's State Council announces next year's holiday schedule in November–December. We'll email you within 2 hours of the announcement with updated shutdown dates, order deadlines, and working day counts.
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